How To Build A Beauty Empire

Taking a small startup to international heights is an extraordinary feat. But it’s all in a day’s work for Livia Wang, the master of world domination

- Alley Pascoe

Livia Wang describes herself as a treasure hunter. As Access Corporate Group’s chief brand officer, Wang spends her days trawling for treasure troves (of the business variety). Some days, they come to her: entrepreneurs looking for investment to scale up and expand internationally. Other days, she seeks them out by scouring social media and using consumer research to find undiscovered gems. On her best days, she stumbles upon them serendipitously, such as with Thalissi, the Spanish cosmetic brand that makes the spa-grade body serum she’s applying as we speak over Zoom. “We’re always looking for products that fill the white space in the market, solve a problem or make life better. You know you’ve found a good product when you can’t stop using it and talking about it,” says Wang, speaking from China where she is now based, after having moved to Australia in 2008 to study public relations.

It was in Australia that Wang launched Access Corporate Group in 2017 with three business partners. Since then, the brand management company has grown to represent 30 businesses, employ 1500 people globally and reach 10 million consumers annually. In the same way she’s grown her own business, Wang has introduced local Aussie brands to the world stage. “Spotting a startup with global potential takes sound research but, really, it’s a gut feeling,” says Wang. “When we’re looking at investing in a business, we put ourselves in the consumer’s shoes and ask if we would buy the product and if we would recommend it to a friend.”